Sunday, April 26, 2026

NPM 2026 - Day 26

Welcome to my National Poetry Month project for 2026, where I am playing with poetry by generating poems in playful ways. Today's poem was inspired by The Poetry Kit by Joseph Coelho.

This poetry activity set contains: 500 word tiles, 1 letter/MORERAPS spinner (MORERAPS = Metaphor, Onomatopoeia, Rhyme, Emotion, Repetition, Alliteration, Personification, Simile), 12 cards with 24 activities, and 1 rules and inspiration booklet for poetry play.
I tried the activity Fun With Rhymes. To play, you choose a random rhyming domino, write down the two words, and list rhyming words underneath them. Then you write a poem using the words as end words.  My randomly selected domino had the words night and dog. Here is the list of words I generated.
This was harder than I thought it would be. I decided to write several different rhyming couplets, and then rearranged them until I had a short poem that worked. 

Night Walk

The sky folds in, a hush of falling night
a lone bark echoes somewhere from a dog

No moon to guide, its face withdrawn from sight
soft footsteps close beside me through the fog

The path is felt, not seen, but worn just right
it leads us slowly through the shadowed bog

Small trees lean in, their branches drawn in tight
the forest stills to hear a lonesome frog

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2026. All rights reserved.

I hope you come back tomorrow to read the new poem I have to share. To see what others are offering up this month, check out  Jama Rattigan's 2026 National Poetry Month Kidlitosphere Events Roundup.

You can check out previous poems in the links below.
April 1 - Paint Chip Poetry - A Villanelle for Adam and Eve
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Saturday, April 25, 2026

NPM 2026 - Day 25

Welcome to my National Poetry Month project for 2026, where I am playing with poetry by generating poems in playful ways. Today's poem was inspired by Haikubes.

Haikubes is a set of 63 word cubes. Two red cubes have phrases that are used to set the theme of the haiku. Blank faces on the cubes are “free” and can be used as any word. To play, you roll all 63 cubes, select word cubes, and arrange them to form a haiku appropriate to the theme.

Here are the cubes I rolled and arranged into a haiku.
The theme of my roll was "A desire for my romantic life." YUCK! I'm not a fan of love poetry, but I do what the dice tell me.
Here's my poem.

fire shines in your eyes
all promises and thunder
please keep dancing

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2026. All rights reserved.

I hope you come back tomorrow to read the new poem I have to share. To see what others are offering up this month, check out Jama Rattigan's 2026 National Poetry Month Kidlitosphere Events Roundup.

You can check out previous poems in the links below.
April 1 - Paint Chip Poetry - A Villanelle for Adam and Eve
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Friday, April 24, 2026

NPM 2026 - Day 24

Welcome to my National Poetry Month project for 2026, where I am playing with poetry by generating poems in playful ways. Today's poem was inspired by Metaphor dice.

Metaphor dice contain red, white, and blue dice. Red are filled with CONCEPTS, usually abstract nouns or big ideas. Blue are filled with OBJECTS, or smaller nouns or humbler things. White are filled with ADJECTIVES or short descriptive phrases. To play, you roll the dice, make a metaphor, and write a poem inspired by it.

In my last metaphor poem post, Tanita commented, "Your dice are ENCHANTED. What a great roll!!!" And Liz commented, "I'm with Tanita -- that is the luckiest and most beautiful roll. Wow." Here's the thing, when you use metaphor dice, you roll ALL of them. So I get 4 in each color and I choose which three I want to use. So, probably not so lucky, but still enchanting.
Here's an image of all the dice I rolled.
And here are the dice I selected for my poem.
I wrote two poems. One about life, and the other about baseball.

The Future is an Impossible Curve-Ball
We draft careful plans,
inked in confident straight lines—
life tilts at the wrist.
What we aimed for slips sideways;
we laugh, or break, or begin.

The Future is an Impossible Curve-Ball
It leaves the pitcher
with a promise of straight flight—
then breaks its own rules.
I swing where it should have been,
and learn from the empty air.

Poems ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2026. All rights reserved.

I hope you come back tomorrow to read the new poem I have to share. To see what others are offering up this month, check out Jama Rattigan's 2026 National Poetry Month Kidlitosphere Events Roundup.

You can check out previous poems in the links below.
April 1 - Paint Chip Poetry - A Villanelle for Adam and Eve
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Poetry Sisters Write Ekphrastic Poems

This month's challenge was to write a poem to a photograph. Simple enough, right? Usually, we share images and select from a common offering, but not this time. This means selecting an image was more difficult than writing a poem. I went through the camera roll on my phone and chose a photo I took of a painting by Jacob Lawrence. It is from the War Series and is titled War Series: Casualty - The Secretary of War Regrets. 

I had a hard time selecting an image for this challenge. The world around us is falling apart, and it's hard to make sense of it all. The war in Iran has me deeply concerned. I'm grateful to our troops serving there, but am heartbroken for the families who have lost loved ones. When I saw this image, I knew it would be my choice.

You know that I love the triolet. There's something about the repeated lines that makes such an impact. I chose this form and used the artwork's title as part of a repeating line in my poem. I love the poem, but it's dark and depressing, so I decided to have another go and wrote a sonnet. That's the poem I'm sharing today.

Casualties of War

Behind the patterned wall of vines and dark,
a figure folds, uncentered, almost gone;
the room burns red, a quiet, inward mark,
while something held has shifted, come undone.

A table keeps its small, unguarded frame,
a portrait set where hands once paused in care;
no voice intrudes to speak the absent name,
only the weight of what is missing there.

Outside, the world arranges lines and claims,
maps drawn in distance, certain in their tone;
yet here, no borders hold, no order tames
the bend of grief that will not stand alone.

So softly written, what is sent, what stays—
a nation speaks, and turns its eyes away.

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2026. All rights reserved.

You can read the poems my Poetry Sisters have written at the links below. 

For National Poetry Month this year, I am writing poems generated in some playful manner. I am using metaphor dice, haikubes, Paint Chip Poetry, Mad Libs, words cut from newspapers and magazines, magnetic poetry, an online poem generator, roll-a-poem, and more.

Today's poem can be found at NPM 2026 - Day 24.

You can read the other poems I've written this month at the links below.

April 1 - Paint Chip Poetry - A Villanelle for Adam and Eve

I hope you'll take some time to check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected today by Irene Latham at Live Your Poem. Happy poetry Friday! 

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Thursday, April 23, 2026

NPM 2026 - Day 23

Welcome to my National Poetry Month project for 2026, where I am playing with poetry by generating poems in playful ways. Today's poem was generated using a Roll-a-Poem grid created by MissAllenApple. 

Rolling a die directed me to write a poem about imagination with a surprising tone, written in free verse, and using at least one simile. Here's what I came up with.

My Imagination
Imagination is something I reach for
when the day feels too small.

On my walk, the street shifts,
like a stage resetting between scenes,
and I’m no longer just passing through.

I imagine the houses listening,
the trees keeping track of every season I’ve missed.

Then something unexpected—
a new idea slips in,
not loud, not dramatic,
but certain as a door I didn’t see before
standing open.

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2026. All rights reserved.

I hope you come back tomorrow to read the new poem I have to share. To see what others are offering up this month, check out Jama Rattigan's 2026 National Poetry Month Kidlitosphere Events Roundup.

You can check out previous poems in the links below.
April 1 - Paint Chip Poetry - A Villanelle for Adam and Eve
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Wednesday, April 22, 2026

NPM 2026 - Day 22

Welcome to my National Poetry Month project for 2026, where I am playing with poetry by generating poems in playful ways. Today's poem was inspired by MadLibs.

To "MadLib" a poem, you take an existing poem and swap out the nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs with your own words, while saving its syntax and punctuation, to create a new poem.

The poem I used was Samurai Song by Robert Pinsky. My reinvention is a poem about running.
Richmond Half Marathon Starting Line, November 2025

Runners Song

When I had no path I made
Confidence my path. When I had
No will my feet decided.

When I had no legs I focused on breath.
When I had no breath I focused on rhythm.
When I had no rhythm I kept moving.

When I had no coach I made
Practice my coach. When I had
No support I embraced discipline.

When I had no partner I made
Silence my partner. When I had no
Race I challenged myself.

When I had no finish I made
My pulse my finish. I have
No medal, my heartbeat is my reward.

When I have no plan memory
Is my plan. When I have
No memory, loss will be my friend.

Avoidance is my habit, running
Is my release. When I had
No answers I chased my dreams.

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2026. All rights reserved.

I hope you come back tomorrow to read the new poem I have to share. To see what others are offering up this month, check out  Jama Rattigan's 2026 National Poetry Month Kidlitosphere Events Roundup.

You can check out previous poems in the links below.

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Tuesday, April 21, 2026

NPM 2026 - Day 21

Welcome to my National Poetry Month project for 2026, where I am playing with poetry by generating poems in playful ways. Today's poem was inspired by Paint Chip Poetry.

The directions say to pull a dozen paint chips and flip over a prompt card. Here's what I ended up with.
I chose the words night, pine, and blizzard to use in a poem focused on sound. This one is untitled. Here's what I wrote.

As humans sleep the forest wakes at night
while pine trees bend beneath the gathering white

As snow swirls sideways through the brittle air
the blizzard hums a low, unending prayer

An owl sits and watches from on high
and tilts its head to catch what stirs nearby

Soft footfalls press through drifts, then disappear
and all the woods lean close as if to hear

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2026. All rights reserved.

I hope you come back tomorrow to read the new poem I have to share. To see what others are offering up this month, check out  Jama Rattigan's 2026 National Poetry Month Kidlitosphere Events Roundup.

You can check out previous poems in the links below.
April 1 - Paint Chip Poetry - A Villanelle for Adam and Eve
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Monday, April 20, 2026

NPM 2026 - Day 20

Welcome to my National Poetry Month project for 2026, where I am playing with poetry by generating poems in playful ways. Today's poem was generated using an online blackout poem generator. Each day, the text selection changes. The text today is Oliver Constable, miller and baker, Vol. 1 (of 3) by Sarah Tytler.

This was a tough one. Here's my poem.
the landscape 
without views is
placid and dusty
set in gray

the windmill extends its
giant arms
not anticipating 
drought

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2026. All rights reserved.

I hope you come back tomorrow to read the new poem I have to share. To see what others are offering up this month, check out  Jama Rattigan's 2026 National Poetry Month Kidlitosphere Events Roundup.

You can check out previous poems in the links below.
April 1 - Paint Chip Poetry - A Villanelle for Adam and Eve
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Sunday, April 19, 2026

NPM 2026 - Day 19

Welcome to my National Poetry Month project for 2026, where I am playing with poetry by generating poems in playful ways. Today's poem was inspired by Poem Dice.

This site from Language is a Virus provides a random set of six words to use as fodder for a poem. The image above shows the 6 words I rolled. I wrote and revised multiple times, but I couldn't make delightful fit. I'm relatively happy with the poem, so I'm okay leaving one word out. 

Villanelle For An Archaeologist

Beneath the soil, lost worlds begin to rise
we brush away what time has hidden here
from buried depths, the quiet past replies

A fallen leaf lies pressed where memory lies
its fragile veins made visible and clear
beneath the soil, lost worlds begin to rise

As outline shapes appear to searching eyes
we trace their edges, hold each fragment dear
from buried depths, the quiet past replies

A deposit of small shards is our surprise
a trace of hands that once were living here
beneath the soil, lost worlds begin to rise.

We work till dusk as moonlight fills the skies
a hush descends, we slowly pack our gear
from buried depths, the quiet past replies

No truth stays buried, still the past defies
what we would hide, revealed so starkly here
beneath the soil, lost worlds begin to rise
from buried depths, the quiet past replies

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2026. All rights reserved.

I hope you come back tomorrow to read the new poem I have to share. To see what others are offering up this month, check out  Jama Rattigan's 2026 National Poetry Month Kidlitosphere Events Roundup.

You can check out previous poems in the links below.
April 1 - Paint Chip Poetry - A Villanelle for Adam and Eve
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Saturday, April 18, 2026

NPM 2026 - Day 18

Welcome to my National Poetry Month project for 2026, where I am playing with poetry by generating poems in playful ways. Today's poem was inspired by the Magnetic Poetry Kit: Revolution Poet.


Magnetic poetry involves creating poems by arranging word magnets on a magnetic surface. The Revolution Poet kit contains more than 200 themed magnetic tiles.

I laid out all the tiles on my sister's coffee table (I'm traveling!) and then selected interesting words until I arranged them into a poem. Here's what I came up with.
we rise together
organize
a movement in the streets
raise our voice
stand strong against
     tyranny
     hate
a mighty force for
     peace
     justice
we love this country too

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2026. All rights reserved.

If you want to try this out, there are several online versions to experiment with.

I hope you come back tomorrow to read the new poem I have to share. To see what others are offering up this month, check out  Jama Rattigan's 2026 National Poetry Month Kidlitosphere Events Roundup.

You can check out previous poems in the links below.
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Friday, April 17, 2026

NPM 2026 - Day 17

Welcome, Poetry Friday friends.

For National Poetry Month this year, I am writing poems generated in some playful manner. I am using metaphor dice, haikubes, Paint Chip Poetry, Mad Libs, words cut from newspapers and magazines, magnetic poetry, an online poem generator, roll-a-poem, and more.

You can read the poems I've written so far at the links below.

Today's poem was inspired by Creative Communication's Poetry Machine.

The Poetry Machine contains various poetic forms and prompts for users to try. I decided to try out the Five W Poem.

Here are the directions.
  • Title: Who ___________________
  • Line 1: What ___________________
  • Line 2: Where ___________________
  • Line 3: When ___________________
  • Line 4: Why ___________________
  • Line 5: How ___________________
I wrote this poem for Laura and all the other good folks across the US who are speaking up for those who cannot and are standing up for what is right.
Protesters
A chorus of raised hands and weathered voices, chants echoing through a common breath
along the avenues where sirens bloom and cardboard prayers tilt toward the sky
at the hour when daylight fractures and the city holds its pulse between heartbeats
because silence has teeth, and justice refuses to sleep beneath it
by marching, step by step, until even the pavement listens and remembers

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2026. All rights reserved.

I hope you come back tomorrow to read the new poem I have to share. To see what others are offering up this month, check out  Jama Rattigan's 2026 National Poetry Month Kidlitosphere Events Roundup.

Please take some time to check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected today by Heidi Mordhorst at my juicy little universe. Happy poetry Friday!

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Thursday, April 16, 2026

NPM 2026 - Day 16

Welcome to my National Poetry Month project for 2026, where I am playing with poetry by generating poems in playful ways. Today's poem was inspired by The Poetry Kit by Joseph Coelho.

This poetry activity set contains: 500 word tiles, 1 letter/MORERAPS spinner (MORERAPS = Metaphor, Onomatopoeia, Rhyme, Emotion, Repetition, Alliteration, Personification, Simile), 12 cards with 24 activities, and 1 rules and inspiration booklet for poetry play.
I tried the activity Action Poems. To play, you choose five red word cards, which are verbs, and write a poem that includes all of the verbs. 

My randomly selected words are pictured below.
I was really stumped thinking about how these verbs could be connected. Ultimately, I landed on actions at the playground. Here's the poem I wrote. 

Playground Sonnet

At recess, where the bright noon sun has crowned
the children race across the open ground
they whisper secrets no one else may hear
then burst to laughter ringing sharp and clear

Small hands will squeeze the rails and climb up high
while daring feet attempt to touch the sky
a careless step—then down they rush in play
and joy erupts though knees are caked with clay

They splash through puddles left from yesterday
and draw wild chalk worlds that will fade away
a scuffed red ball will bounce from hand to hand
a rhythm none but they can understand

The bell will call—but still their bodies run
unwilling yet to leave behind the fun

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2026. All rights reserved.

I hope you come back tomorrow to read the new poem I have to share. To see what others are offering up this month, check out  Jama Rattigan's 2026 National Poetry Month Kidlitosphere Events Roundup.
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Wednesday, April 15, 2026

NPM 2026 - Day 15

Welcome to my National Poetry Month project for 2026, where I am playing with poetry by generating poems in playful ways. Today's poem was inspired by Haikubes.

Haikubes is a set of 63 word cubes. Two red cubes have phrases that are used to set the theme of the haiku. Blank faces on the cubes are “free” and can be used as any word. To play, you roll all 63 cubes, select word cubes, and arrange them to form a haiku appropriate to the theme.

Here are the cubes I rolled and arranged into a haiku.
The theme of my roll was "A dream about our world."
Here's my poem.

in shady places
light slips down through dancing leaves
god is wind, not war

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2026. All rights reserved.

I hope you come back tomorrow to read the new poem I have to share. To see what others are offering up this month, check out Jama Rattigan's 2026 National Poetry Month Kidlitosphere Events Roundup.
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Tuesday, April 14, 2026

NPM 2026 - Day 14

Welcome to my National Poetry Month project for 2026, where I am playing with poetry by generating poems in playful ways. Today's poem was inspired by Metaphor dice.

Metaphor dice contain red, white, and blue dice. Red are filled with CONCEPTS, usually abstract nouns or big ideas. Blue are filled with OBJECTS, or smaller nouns or humbler things. White are filled with ADJECTIVES or short descriptive phrases. To play, you roll the dice, make a metaphor, and write a poem inspired by it.

Here are the dice I selected. I used the metaphor as a title and wrote a pantoum.

My Heart is a Glorified Drum

My heart is a glorified drum
it answers the silence with sound
a pulse that refuses to numb
a rhythm that circles around

It answers the silence with sound
through bone it keeps time in the dark
a rhythm that circles around
each echo a bright, urgent spark

Through bone it keeps time in the dark
it calls me to follow its hum
each echo a bright, urgent spark
my heart is a glorified drum

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2026. All rights reserved.

I hope you come back tomorrow to read the new poem I have to share. To see what others are offering up this month, check out Jama Rattigan's 2026 National Poetry Month Kidlitosphere Events Roundup.
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Monday, April 13, 2026

NPM 2026 - Day 13

Welcome to my National Poetry Month project for 2026, where I am playing with poetry by generating poems in playful ways. Today's poem was generated using a Roll-a-Poem grid created by MissAllenApple. 

Rolling a die directed me to write a poem about animals that was sad, had an ABAB rhyme scheme, and used onomatopoeia. Here's what I came up with.
Image from Wikimedia Commons

Swamp Dirge
The marsh lies still—hush hush—a heavy green
a ripple parts where silent shadows glide
a sudden snap snap breaks what once had been
and something small is dragged beneath the tide

A muffled splash—then nothing left to hear
no cry remains, just bubbles slipping through
the reeds lean in—swish swish—as if to peer
then close again, as though they never knew

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2026. All rights reserved.

I hope you come back tomorrow to read the new poem I have to share. To see what others are offering up this month, check out Jama Rattigan's 2026 National Poetry Month Kidlitosphere Events Roundup.
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